Promises
by GaleLeahy
Summary: Rachel and Jesse have a problem; they have to keep their promises. A two-shot.
1. Rachel's Promise

**A/N:**

**Hello everybody! This is a two-shot about Rachel and Jesse mainly because I'm a hopeless St. Berry shipper. Who else is TOTALLY EXCITED that Jonathan Groff is coming back? I am! Anyway, here is the first part (aka Rachel's promise to Jesse). Enjoy!**

Rachel Barbra Berry is not a complex person. Everybody who spends two minutes with her would know that she has two gay dads, plans to be on Broadway, and has a strange love for sweaters with animals on them. But one thing about Rachel that most people don't know is she can't go back on promises; not even ones concerning Jesse St. James.

As she slipped on her black dress with the emerald green sash, Rachel had only one thought. That thought happened to be her contemplating why she was doing this.

_Because I promised, _Rachel amended, tying the sash as tightly as she could to emphasize how good she looked in the dress. Not like she was trying to impress anybody, anyway.

_But he cracked an egg on my forehead; doesn't that mean that I shouldn't have to go?_

Rachel quickly came up with the solution as she started her car and drove off to Carmel, her _Spring Awakening _soundtrack playing smoothly in the background.

The entire drive over to Carmel, Rachel considered all scenarios. There were some good ones (like Jesse sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her until the world ended; than they would have two children named Barbra and Freddy). There were some bad ones (another egg; another angry mother haunting dreams of innocent Rachel). In the brief moment when she wanted to turn around and go home, Rachel realized she was already in the Carmel parking lot. Sucking up what little pride she had left (you can only have so much pride when you've been dumped over ten times by _Finn Hudson _of all people – this time it was because of Quinn…again), Rachel got out of her car and headed towards the cafeteria. A light grimace crossed her face as she passed the school mascot. It wasn't because of the twisted, sick theory behind it (well, it partially was but that was beside the point) but it was because she realized her place. And it wasn't a good one, either.

Rachel slipped into the back doors of the cafeteria and stood in the back row, only ten rows away from Jesse. Even though she thought he would've been happy for finally leaving Ohio, Jesse had a look of subtle sadness radiating from behind his show-face. It looked as if he didn't want to graduate; like he didn't want to leave. As the principle walked up to the front, Rachel threw that thought aside. Graduation at Carmel was nothing like regular graduations. The students didn't walk in to music; there were merely introduced as the graduating class and then the valedictorian started talking. She recognized the person; it was a member of Vocal Adrenaline. His name was Paul; she used to go to elementary school with him and at Regionals he had been one of the many back-up dancers in the shadow of Jesse. As he spoke about the many troubles that the seniors had gone through to get to where there are today, Rachel realized that all of the Vocal Adrenaline people had tears streaming down their face. Except for Jesse.

_What was wrong with him? _Rachel questioned mentally, staring at the back of Jesse's head. She didn't stop staring at him until the principle started calling the names of the graduating class. She tore her gaze away as he shifted and got up along with the rest of his row. Instead of the blue robes everybody else was wearing, all the Vocal Adrenaline members were wearing red robes with black sashes.

"Joseph Michael St. James. Lead member of Vocal Adrenaline. Graduating with honors and moving on to attend UCLA. I'll miss your visits, Jesse." The principle said fondly, handing Jesse his diploma and shook his hand. I clapped the beat to 'Hello' and saw Jesse's head rise, his eyes meeting mine. I gave him the best smile I could muster up and watched as he went back to his seat. Ten people later, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out silently and flipped it open, almost shocked at who sent it.

Jesse – Thank you.

Rachel – For what?

I sent the message quickly and looked for non-existent lint on my dress. After counting the stiches in the hem three times, my phone vibrated.

Jesse – So I guess this is good-bye.

_Way to avoid the question, _I complained to myself and rolled my eyes. After taking a minute of consideration, I typed out a response and sent it.

Rachel – No…I'll be seeing you. Someday.

It took five people for him to respond.

Jesse – Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

Rachel – Wow. Cheesy.

The ceremony ended, yet I stayed in my seat. I was deep in thought, thinking about the next time our paths would cross.

"Rach,"

I looked up to see Jesse sitting down in the empty chair next to me. His cap was in his hands and he was no longer wearing his robe; instead it was the same outfit that I met him in. He looked up and gave me a genuine half-smile. I tried my best to smile but it came out more like an ugly-cry look. He wrapped me in his arms and stoked my hair. We stayed like that for a moment and then I pulled away from his grasp and looked him in the eyes.

"I can't forgive you yet, Jesse. But congratulations and good luck in UCLA." I whispered, looking down at my feet.

He lifted up my chin with his index finger to where we had eye contact once more. "I understand you can't forgive me yet. But one day you will. I'll be there for you, whenever that day is. Good-bye, Rachel. My funny girl,"

Jesse bent down, kissed my forehead, and then walked out the door without looking back. As he left, Rachel noticed that his posture wasn't as good as it regularly was. Normally Rachel would've corrected him, but she liked how well things had just ended between them. So she followed Jesse's footsteps and left, never looking back.


	2. Jesse's Promise

**A/N:**

**Hello everybody! Here is the second part of my two-shot…told as Jesse's promise to one Rachel Berry (*). Forgot to add this, but I OWN NOTHING! If I owned Glee, I would have Jonathan Groff in every episode and Finn would "tragically" be shipped back to Canada…now I'm just dreaming. Anyway…here it is! Jesse's promise to Rachel :)**

Jesse St. James was a complicated person. At least, that's what he thought. And in most cases it was true. But, there were basic facts that everybody knew about him. Like the fact that he could crush a person without feeling an ounce of guilt. It was also a known fact that he could cover any song and make it sound better than the original (except for the Queen – nobody can beat that). But, one thing that nobody knows about Jesse St. James is that he has to keep a promise – no questions asked. Even promises concerning Rachel Barbra Berry(*).

Among many things in the world, Jesse St. James detested airplanes. Though he would gladly stand up and sing about defying gravity, the thought of actually flying scares him. So as he boarded the plane with a hard glare, Jesse re-considered what he was about to do.

_I DID promise her, though. _Jesse thought as he sat down by the window seat in his first class seat, only to be followed by a business man who began pulling out files of paper work.

_And she did show up to my graduation…only fair? _

Jesse finished up his argument in his head while the flight attendants demonstrating how to use all of the safety equipment. Against the captains' commands, Jesse slipped in the ear-buds to his iPod and clicked on the playlist that Rachel had created for him when they first began dating. It covered everything from 'Hello' by Lionel Richie to 'Tonight' from West Side Story and it was the only thing Jesse ever listened to (besides his _Spring Awakening _soundtrack). After nearly breaking the armrest, the plane was finally up in the air and I pulled out my Sondheim biography and tried to forget he was flying. A few hours later, he was safely back on the ground and walking out of the Lima Airport, fingering the box burning a hole in his pocket.

He lifted up his other hand to check the time. It was 12:34AM on Rachel's birthday. To make sure everything would be just the way he imagined it all those years ago, Jesse drove straight to Rachel's house without going back home (or sleeping). He had been rehearsing this day since he started attending UCLA but Jesse was still…well, he was still nervous.

He already knew that Rachel's dads wouldn't be here. He had met up with them a few weeks prior to this day to talk to them about what he was about to ask Rachel. They were in LA on a business trip for around a month and thought it would be a great if he asked Rachel. They kept on repeating how much better he was than Finn and how much they loved him (his ego liked this).

He shut his car door quietly and pulled out the spare key Mr. Berry had given him after their lunch. He took the CD out of his messenger bag and locked his car, entering the house as quietly as he could. Knowing he had a few hours before he needed to start prepping, he decided to sleep for a moment on Rachel's couch. He set the alarm on his watch and closed his eyes, only to be woken up thirty minutes later by footsteps coming down the stairs. After realizing it was Rachel, Jesse stuck a pillow to cover his face so Rachel couldn't see him. He could hear Rachel's breathing and noticed it wasn't even enough for her to be awake. He raised his head slowly to see Rachel walking into the kitchen with her eyes closed, occasionally running into walls.

"No, don't eat the unicorn ear…there isn't enough rainbow dust to go around." Rachel mumbled after running into the wall than turning around into the kitchen.

With a glint of humor in his eyes, Jesse walked into the kitchen slowly to see Rachel pulling out the carton of eggs. She picked one out and twirled it in her fingers. Scared about what would happen next, Jesse lightly shook Rachel's shoulder, trying to get her awake.

"Rachel," Jesse said quietly, still shaking her shoulder. He saw her head begin to shake and she turned around to face him, her big doe eyes meeting his.

"Jesse?" Rachel whispered, looking at him with a strange intensity. Jesse gave her the best smile he could muster, yet she kept staring at him.

Then she shocked Jesse by taking the egg in her hand and smashing it against the top of his head. Completely bewildered, Jesse stood there, feeling the yolk drip down the side of his face. Rachel observed the falling egg for a moment, and then burst out laughing. It didn't take too long for Jesse to join her and pretty soon the both of them were sitting on the floor of Rachel's kitchen, one covered in egg and the other with seriously awful bed-head.

"Wait a minute; why are you in my house?" Rachel said, turning to face Jesse.

"It wasn't supposed to turn out this way, but I suppose I will have to work off of this. Rachel, today you are eighteen years old. Congratulations, by the way. Anyway, if I remember correctly, on our eleventh date while we were watching _Phantom of the Opera _I had brought up the topic of us getting married. You looked extremely ready for the idea, yet the fact that you were not legally an adult seemed to be a major argument. So I promised you that – when that day would come – I'd be back. And we all know that I have to keep my promises. But, to me, this isn't an obligation; this is what my heart is telling me to do. I know I don't really sound like myself right now, but you're the only exception to the hard, tear-down-everything-in-my-path Jesse St. James. I've loved you from the start, Rachel, and I'll love you to the end. I've talked to your dads if that's something you're worried about. Leroy started crying he was so happy. Rachel, I know I've done a lot of really horrible things in my past, but that's the thing; it's the past. You literally had me at hello Rach. Well, more like 'Oh my God you're Jesse St. James; you're in Vocal Adrenaline'." Rachel smacked his arm at this, but was trying to fight off a smile. "Rachel Barbra Berry, you are my everything. And I was wondering if perhaps you would make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

And with that question Jesse shifted to where he was on one knee and slipped out the ring that had been burning a hole in his pocket for years. Jesse gently flipped open the case, revealing the ring that had once belonged to his grandmother. Rachel gaped at the ring for a few seconds, then jumped on Jesse and kissed him. Of course, Jesse didn't object but he did wonder if this meant yes.

"Is that a yes?" Jesse asked after Rachel separated herself from him.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Of course it is a yes, Jesse."

And on that note, Rachel proceeded to kiss Jesse another time.

Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James have a problem; they have to keep their promises. But – as they told Barbra Elphaba Maria and Freddy Tony why keeping promises was a great virtue – they realized that sometimes keeping promises can bring the most unlikely people together.

And that maybe – just maybe - keeping promises isn't such a bad thing after all.


End file.
